Every once in a while we get a memorable press kit in the mail at the Volume One office. This was one of them. It’s for the debut album Cry A Little Rainbow from Madison band Cribshitter. The amazing/terrible graphics (including the drummer in a lion mask vomiting a rainbow), a bizarre hand-drawn sketch and description, and the child-like letterhead on which it all came = awesome. Then there’s the music – 30 tracks ranging from twelve seconds to over four minutes in length, with titles like “Don’t Tell Me How to Raise My Kin!” and “Derek Threw a Fucking Eraser at Me.” And the titles certainly get even more, um, interesting, than those. The music varies wildly in style from track to track, ranging from lush, experimental pop to electronic hip-hop and I swear everything in between. It’s a great ride, and even though you might not want to listen everyday, it’s the most interesting album to come across my desk in a year or more, and it really makes me want to see them live. There’s even a fake “VH1 Behind the Music” on their Myspace page. It’s awesome.

Most interesting note: Cribshitter is the band of Karl Christenson, a former Eau Claire resident and member of the popular local band Jimmy’s Comet (who brought Clem Snide to play at the House of Rock in 2002). The Comet left town for Madison in roughly 2002/2003 if I remember right, renamed themselves My Firefly, and eventually called it quits.

FIND MORE:
Cribshitter on Myspace
Cribshitter "Behind the Music" on YouTube